After the Bombs
"Mommy, what was life like before the bombs?"
"Don't ask such things, sweetie. It isn't nice to think about that."
"But I want to know. What was it like?"
"Eat your peas, sweetie."
"I don't like peas. I like pudding. I want pudding."
"Only good girls get pudding. Now eat your peas, or you'll go to bed hungry."
"I don't like my bedroom! It's too stuffy. Was it like that outside, too? Before the bombs?"
"I told you to stop talking about that! It... it's very hard for grown-ups talk about the before time."
"But you and Daddy used to live there, right? You used to live on the outside. Was it as gray there? Our fur and our friends' fur are so much more colorful, but the walls are all gray. Like Matty is blue, and Stephie is green. Why is that, Mommy?"
"Gray is easier to maintain. It's easier to see if something's wrong. The colors stand out."
"Is that why we have all these different colors? Is there something wrong with us?"
"No, sweetie, there's nothing wrong with us."
"What about my tail? It has purple and orange. Is that okay?"
"Yes, sweetie, that's perfectly normal."
"Did you ever see others like us on the outside?"
".....If I tell you, will you promise to stop asking questions?"
"I promise, Mommy."
"Fine... It was a lot more colorful on the surface. There were trees and mo--"
"What's a tree?"
"A tree is a plant. It's like the plants we grow in the green house, but it's much taller, and the stem is a lot harder and brown. They have lots of leaves on them, and sometimes they change colors. They were very pretty that time of year."
"Were they the same colors as us?"
"Most of the trees were green, but at parts of the year, there were trees like your friend Belle's colors, trees like our colors, and even ones that had lots of different colors."
"Why are there no trees here?"
"There isn't room for them in the vaults. They're much too tall."
"Oh."
"Anyway, there were trees, and mountains, and--"
"What's a mountain?"
"If you keep stopping me to ask questions you'll never find out."
"But I don't know what a mountain is."
"It's like a big pile of dirt and rocks, but very tall."
"Oh."
"There were also big cities, with very tall buildings that furs would live and work in. They weren't everywhere. There were lots of forests - those are areas with lots of trees and no civilized furs - and even big oceans. Those are big bodies of water. They stretched farther than you could see, and lots of fish lived in them. Sometimes furs would take boats out on them and just float away, to explore, or catch fish, or trade with other cities."
"What was your favorite part of the outside?"
"I liked exploring the forests. They were always much more interesting to me than the cities. I remember going out and exploring the woods near our house. My dad would take me deep into the forest and we'd build a tent - that's like a... a portable room, made of fabric - and just live off the land for a few days. One time we saw a family of elephants. They were the most brilliant shades of green and blue. The baby came up to me and I got to pet its head. It was very cute. Then it went back to its mother and went on."
"What's an ele... an elah..."
"An elephant is a large animal that walks on four legs. It didn't talk, kind of like Cody, but it made different sounds. They were simple animals, but very pretty. Fluffy, but not as soft as our fur. They weren't smart like us, but they did well enough on their own."
"I'd like to pet an elephant one day."
"They may have all died when the bombs fell."
"Oh..... Mommy, did everything on the outside die when the bombs fell?"
"Don't ask such questions. It's not nice to think about."
"But you said they probably died. Did everything die?"
"Maybe not everything. But a lot of things. Probably all of the furs who didn't make it to the vaults."
"Will we ever be able to go back to the outside?"
"Not in our lifetimes, baby. Maybe our great great great grandkits will be able to. But not us. It's too deadly on the surface now."
"Why did the bombs fall?"
"Go to bed."
"But I want to know!"
"Go. To. Bed."
"Why won't you tell me?"
"...... Some furs... said things that other furs didn't like. They got into a big argument, and they dropped the bombs on each others' cities."
"That doesn't sound very nice."
"It wasn't. It was a very not nice time. Now go to bed, baby."
"Do I have to?"
"Please, go to bed."
"Okaaay, Mommy. I love you."
"I love you, too, baby."